Don’t rain on my (Gay Pride) parade

I try really hard to keep politics out of this blog, and most of my writing at the Chronicle. I’m very aware of my place in the world — and the public at large probably doesn’t care what the guy who writes about David Beckham’s underwear thinks about the NAFTA situation.

Randi Lynn Beach/Associated Press

Even in private, I’m more likely on the majority of issues to play devil’s advocate than take an impassioned stance on anything. But there are two subjects — First Amendment rights and equal rights for gay couples — that you will have a really hard time getting me to shut up about. Growing up, my Thanksgivings and Christmases usually consisted of my parents, sister and grandparents, plus my lesbian aunt and a large collection of her gay and lesbian friends. I can’t remember a time when gay marriage seemed anything but obvious to me.

My aunt changed professions from businesswoman to politician in the 1990s when I was away at school and later working in Los Angeles, and I marched in the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade with her float several times. Once I moved back to San Francisco in 1999 and marching with her became a conflict of interest issue (I was a courtroom reporter back then, and she could potentially show up in a lawsuit against the city), I joined the Chronicle contingent of marchers — complete with pink delivery truck and “We Come Out Every Day” T-shirts — which was also very welcoming to PFLAG types at the paper.

I’ve taken the last couple of years off. But in part because of recent events, my wife and I decided to take our sons (ages 3 and 2 months) to this Sunday’s parade as spectators, and I’m curious what more seasoned parents have to say about taking young kids to the Pride parade.

I’m not particularly concerned about the content. Yes, we will see naked people (many on motorcycles), which doesn’t bother me in the least. I’m more concerned about him coming away wanting to ride a Harley than wanted to take off all his clothes or get tattoos and piercings. (And I can’t imagine there’s anything at the Pride parade that he’s not going to see when we walk down the street in Berkeley.)

I’m a bit more worried about the logistics. The idea of losing a kid the middle of a parade scene is horrifying, and I suspect the always packed sidewalks will be even more crowded than ever. I’ll probably put my 3-year-old on my shoulders, but even doing that I’m worried he won’t be able to see anything. (At least we’ll still get the audio experience.)

Let us know your experiences with kids at the Pride parade, or other huge parades. (And please don’t tip us off to the “Tykes on Bikes” program — we’re going to write a post about that later.)